Ken Urker Found Dead in Louisiana Home, Sheriff Says

Kenan "Ken" Urker, the partner of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, was found dead inside his Louisiana home on Thursday after loved ones asked authorities to conduct a welfare check, according to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office. Investigators said the case remains open, but deputies have reported no signs of foul play at this stage.

According to an incident report, Anita Blanchard told deputies that she and her husband, who is Gypsy Rose Blanchard's half-brother, went to Urker's residence and saw the 34-year-old lying unconscious through a window. A man who was with them then climbed into the home through a window and located Urker inside. The report states that he was not breathing and was cold to the touch when he was found.

Deputies documented several items inside the home during their response. Investigators recovered syringes and a spoon near a brown powdery substance in the bathroom, according to the report. Authorities also found a handgun, two shot glasses, and a syringe on a nightstand beside the bed. Deputies further noted that Urker appeared to have been there for an extended period of time.

Anita Blanchard told law enforcement that Urker had attended church with her and her husband the previous evening at about 8:45 p.m. During that time, she said, he mentioned feeling depressed and upset. Deputies also wrote in their report that loved ones told them Urker had started a TikTok Live video at around 11 p.m. while driving, though he reportedly did not speak during the stream. Urker had built a following of more than 36,000 people on the platform.

Concern grew the next day when Urker did not report to work. Anita Blanchard and his employer then decided to check on him, a step that eventually led to the welfare check request and the discovery at his home. Thursday, the day he was found, was also his 34th birthday.

Investigation and public statements

The sheriff's office said there were no immediate indications of criminal involvement. Officials added that if the investigation were to uncover major new information or if the assessment changed, a new statement would be issued.

In a statement to PEOPLE, Gypsy Rose Blanchard said she believes Urker died of a drug overdose, while adding that she does not know whether it was intentional. She also said he had not been in a good state of mind recently.

Blanchard later posted a tribute to Urker on Instagram, writing that he would always be her greatest love story and that he would be remembered and loved forever. In an Instagram Story, she also spoke about what she described as severe cyberbullying directed at him across social media platforms including TikTok and Reddit. She said the scrutiny and harassment had a profound effect on him and urged people to remember that real lives are affected by online commentary.

She also wrote that their daughter, Aurora, would grow up knowing how deeply her father loved her and who he was beyond the version seen by strangers online. The post, shared with Blanchard's one million followers, received nearly 100,000 likes within hours.

Urker and Blanchard became engaged in 2018 while she was in prison, though they later separated. After reconnecting following her first marriage, the couple welcomed their daughter on Dec. 28, 2024. Blanchard had been released on parole in December 2023 after serving 85% of a 10-year sentence for her role in the 2015 killing of her mother, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard, a case that later inspired Hulu's 2019 series The Act.